Song: It's terror time again by Skycycle

It happened on Halloween night; it had been one of her first jobs.

Back then Rashel was only thirteen years old and her distinguished career as a vampire hunter was just beginning.

That night, like every other night, she faked being asleep till she heard the front door close. Then she got up and took her black coat and the ski mask she carefully hid under the mattress. She went to the window and after comfirming that her adoptive family was far enough she slid down the roof till she reached a tree branch that allowed her to go down easily, and above all, without being seen.

Rashel headed for the main street. All houses were decorated according to the occasion, they were full of pumpkins, creepy dolls and so on. Naturally there were groups of children from all ages going door to door asking for candy. The Colemans had showed a keen desire to take her and the other kids they took in to trick-or-treating but Rashel had manged to fake an illness so well they had decided to leave her rest at home.

If there was a night she could go unnoticed with that attire it was that one, everyone would simply think she was wearing an unoriginal costume but still Rashel chose to remain away from people, if she wanted to do this she needed to be very careful.

Two weeks ago two girls, a fourteen and sixteen year old, had gone missing. The case had made it to the local news and people at her school began talking about a third girl from the same age that had supposedly ran away from home less than a month ago. The police had released an official statement claiming they had no reason to believe the two cases were connected but that they would keep investigating.

As far as everyone knew no advance had been made.

Rashel read about the case in the newspaper and thought it was worth to take a look at it. If there was something hunting down young girls that night was the perfect oportunity to collect a new victim. She hadn't seen anyone that she found suspicious during her stay in that city but she had arrived recently so it was perfectly possible for a parasite from the Night World to be hidden somewhere.

Rashel devoted herself to monitor everyone that may not be human, the costumes didn't help, but she managed to detect two possible suspects. One was a tall boy wearing a smokin that moved with too much looseness and the other was slim girl with a purple tunic with unusually bright amber eyes. When Rashel saw the girl all the stories about shapeshifters and werewolves she had heard came to her mind and wondered if she may be one of those. Determined to find out, she followed the girl for a long time but finally Rashel had to accept she had been mistaken once she realized the girl was only wearing contact lenses.

Not giving up she continued with her task.

Some time passed till Rashel stumbled with something. At the other side of the street Rashel spoted a young couple. The first thing that caught her attention was the girl, she had golden hair which she carried in ringlets, a long blue dress and crown of flowers decorated her small head. Her partner wasn't wearing a costum or at least he wasn't anything that Rashel recognized, he carried a simple black jacket, worn out jeans and boots. An alarm was triggered inside her head as soon as she saw them.

Without thinking it twice Rashel went behind the couple. She made sure to keep a safe distance from them so they wouldn't notice her but she could still have a good sight of them.

Once the couple left behind the gate that marked the entry of the neighborhood and turned to the left Rashel guessed where they were going: the haunted house.

It had been a topic of discussion the week before. A group of students had managed to obtain a special permission to turn an old house that was some kind of historical monument into a haunted mansion for a whole week. Rashel had read in one of the flyers they have been spreading to promote the event that its purpose was to raise funds for a charitable cause.

The path towards the haunted house had been marked by big arrows which made Rashel's job easier.

The silhouette of a big building started to became visible and the couple sped up. When Rashel reached the house she saw a blue dress disappear behind a thick wooden door.

It was easy to notice that the house could have been a century old, it's rectangular shape and neogothic façade so indicated. Big stone steeps with red stains led to the entry, the stair rail was covered with spider webs and black fabric. The front yard wich was spacious but also very dull was filled of tombstones, a human figure was hanging from the brach of a tree was sadly rocked by the wind. Signs that read: «Be careful!» and «Stay away!» decorated the fence.

The sight didn't scare Rashel, after what she had been through it would take much more to scare her. She recognized whoever was in charge of the decoration had made a good job nonetheless.

A tall figure wearing a long black tunic and a scythe guarded the entrance. It was probably the one in charge of collecting the money of the entrance.

Rashel sneaked between the tombstones and reached one side of the building. She did so because she didn't want to be seen, besides, she didn't have the money for the entrance.

Rashel quickly located a half-open window and climbed to the windowsill. She tried to open it but soon realized it was stuck. Resigned Rashel hold her breath and try to break in through the small space she had avaiable, her legs were first then the rest of her body. Too late she thought that if she got stuck she'd be in a ridicoulus position but fortunately that didn't happened and she managed to enter the house.

She landed in a dark study, a squeleton seated in a leather chair welcomed her.

Rashel headed for the door and opened it carefully.

The house's interior, Rashel told herself, must have been very pretty at the time but now it had a dark aspect. Without wasting any time she examined all the ground floor, the only rooms opened to the public were the dining room, the living room and the study through which she had entered, the kitchen and the bathrooms were locked.

There was no trace from the couple she was looking for.

Rashel then went to the staircase and went up. All the rooms were opened in the second floor but still the couple she was looking for was nowhere in sight. Where were they? They couldn't just disappear into thin aire, could they?

Frustated Rashel penetrated into a lonely hall, the last part of the house that had to be inspected. At the end of the hall a black curtain that served as a door for a room could be seen. When Rashel saw it the alarm inside her head ringed again. Stealthily she advanced toward the curtain and opened, just a little bit and with a lot of delicacy. The scene she witnessed made her stomach churn. Her instinc had been right, the boy was a leech, she could see that now, he had his fangs sank in the girl's neck.

Rashel's hand automatically sought the stake she carried hidden inside her boot. She took a deep breath and jumped into the room.

The vampire's head turned by the sudden interruption, he released the girl's body and it fell to the ground with a dry noise.

He didn't attack inmediatly, just like Rashel had expected. She was just a thirteen year old girl after all, she didn't represent a threat at first sight. The vampire tried to use telepathy on her. Soon she heard a soft voice inside her head, telling her she had a very important thing to do and needed to leave right now; it sounded so convincing like if in reality he was only remainding her (ver kindly) that she had something to do.

Rashel turned on her heels and when it seemed she was about to exit she nudged him, hard. He lost his breath, she had taken him by surprise.

She prepared herself to deliver another blow, her plan was to knock him down but she hadn't counted with the vampire's speed. She didn't have time to react, the next thing she was conscious of was her back's collision against the wall.

Ignoring the pain she got up. Her first thougt was: zanshin, I need zanshin, the second was to recover the stake she had droped. But she didn't have the time, the vampire was now right in from of her. Rashel managed to dodge two or three of his blows till he corraled her in a corner. Then she felt a hand pressuring her throat, taking the air away from her. Rashel resorted to all her self-control not to panic. She needed to think.

Using all the force a thirteen year old could possibly have Rashel gave the vampire a kick in the chin. It worked, the bastard's cruel grip loosened, she managed to get free and take the stake she had lost but she didn't have the time to used it like she had expected. Her opponent quickly recovered and Rashel felt a powerful blow directed at her back. She was tossed across the room again.

This time she landed againts a big box located in one corner.

The vampire's face was contorted with rage. She had infuriated him a lot. Her rival lunged towards her. Rashel breathed and then did something he didn't expect. She threw herself at him with the stake pointing out and plunged it into his chest. The vampire gasped.

She was small compared to the vampired so she wondered if she had missed the heart.

Rashel glanced up, her look and her adversary's locked. His eyes shined with hatred.

Yes, you hate me, Rashel thought, I'm killing you right now. I can't let you harm more girls.

Finally he stopped moving and the body collapsed.

Rashel then focused on the girl that lied on the floor. She approached the girl, she was still breathing.

Out the corner of her eye she saw the vampire's body.

The fist thing she thought was the box of matches she had brought for the ocassion but she hesitated in using it. The room was filled with fake spider web that could probably be flammable and starting a fire wasn't in Rashel's plans for tonight.

What to do, then?

A mild moan caugth her attention, it came from the girl, she was starting to wake up. If she opened her eyes and saw a mummified body with her partner's clothes she would freak out.

Think, think, Rashel told herself.

Her eyes found a window. She tried to opened it in vain, it was locked. But even if she managed to open it, Rashel realized, it would be of no use. The window faced the backyard which had people in it, it wouldn't be wise to throw a mummy at them.

She couldn't get the body out of the room either, people will question why was she dragging a dead body around the house.

Behind Rashel, the girl moaned lauder this time.

She had to do something, and do it fast.

Her eyes looked for something, anything, that could serve her. At the end Rashel glanced at the box she had bee thrown at, she realized it was actually a coffin. Could she…? It seemed absurd but what other option did she had?

She approached it and saw there was a squeleton inside it, she took it and pulled it out. Then she went to the vampire's body and put a hand on its shoulder and the other one on the rib cage, with some effort she managed to straighten the body. Putting aside her disgust by the fact that she was most likely holding a rib Rashel lifted the body and using all her remaining force she tossed it inside the coffin. To her surprise, it fitted, apparently the coffin was from the vampire's seize.

Seconds after Rashel's feat the girl finally wake up.

Her hair was messy and she looked disoriented like if just have came out of some parasomnia state. She glanced Rashel and asked:

–What happened?

Rashel conclued the girl must had been influenced, people didn't remember they had been attacked when they were under mind control.

–I think you passed out –she replied calmly.

The girl looked at her incredulously.

–Are you serious?

Rashel nodded.

The girl rubber her forehead.

–I have never passed out before –she muttered.

She then fell quiet for a moment, then she questioned Rashel again.

–Where's Jack?

Now it was Rashel's turn to look at her completely puzzled.

–Who's Jack?

–The boy that was here with me –replied the girl and then have her a brief description of the vampire she had just killed.

–There was none here –lied Rashel.

–Are you sure?

Rashel nodded again.

The girl looked around very confused and got up.

–Well, I think I better go and start looking for him .

The girl then exited the room.

Now that she was alone Rashel could think. How could she get rid of the body? She couldn't leave it there forever. She had to do something but what?

Rashel contemplated the corpse. Under different circumstances it could even be funny.

She sighed.

Long minutes passed before she finally got an idea. A couple of days ago the organizers of the event had been recruiting people to help them remove all the decoration once it was over. She could volunteer and then she would come back and take the body out of the house so she could get rid of it properly.

But her plan didn't work. The next day, when she came back for the body under the excuse of helping the others Jack's body had vanished. Rashel had examined every corner of that old house looking for it, she thought perhaps someone had move it believing it was part of the decoration but she didn't find it.

Reflecting on the matter later, she had come to the conclusion that Jack hadn't work on its own, he must have had a partner. And that partner had been the one that found Jacks's body and made it disappear in some ingenious way Rashel didn't think about. If she was right then the macabre discovery had been enough to scare that other accomplice because no other case of missing person was reported after that night.

Rashel had been attentive to any similar case in near cities but nothing came out.

The police was never able to find any of the missing girls, neither could Rashel but at least she knew she had brought them some justice.

At the end everyone seemed to have a happy Halloween.

And that's itm . I hope you liked it. In case you are wondering why is there the title of a song at the top it is because this series of one-shots are based on a challenge I saw in THG fandom. It basically consists in putting your Ipod to shuffle and write a story based on whatever song you listened to. I liked the idea and thougt I'give it a shot.

Night-Person-Iron-Fey, this is the second chaper of my fic, the first one is like ten pages long so it would take more time to translate, I'll see if can do it in this week.

Cheers.